Baby proofing

The baby is all over the place. Crawling. Standing. Contemplating how to climb. Pulling on the blinds. You get the picture. So hubs and I decided it was time to baby proof the house. We installed the traditional plugs in the outlets, under the cabinet locks and collecting items at her level to store somewhere higher.

We have a massive fireplace (175 inches long) in our living room that needed some cushioning as well as our tv stand needed a cover to distract the baby. This was to become my task. Design and install some sort of baby proofing yet aesthetically pleasing cushioning. So here is what I did.

Before

After

Hubs and I decided that we needed more seating and the fireplace was a great option but not with stone sticking you in the rump! So I made some cushions to add more seating and added a faux tufted cover for the front and side of the fireplace. The monogramed pillows are great for back support and I really like the monogram. I have a tutorial for the monogramed pillows here. I kept the seating cushions neutral so I could change out the pillows with different colors if I pleased and I found it on sale for $4 a yard!

I wanted a cohesive look for the tv stand and knew this was going to be temporary. My MIL found the tan cushions that provided great cushion on the corners of the stand but we still needed something to cover the glass shelves otherwise this was going to turn into her jungle gym.

Before

After

More faux tufted cushioning that doesn’t look too inviting for baby. So far so good!

This was a great project because there was no pattern or tutorial. It is all custom made for our home and I learned a lot about measuring, making piping, attaching velcro to stone and making cushions. What kind of baby proofing have you had to do?

A babyproofing project that can literally become a lifesaver for all stages of child-life is to find ways to anchor tall heavy objects like free-standing shelves…and even top-heavy chests of drawers (Judd started out calling them Chester’s drawers) to the wall. They make really small L-bolts and/or hinges that will hold even really big/heavy stuff securely to the wall. Kids are a lot like monkies without the fuzz and will climb “it” simply because it’s there…and the thought of something toppling over on them is not something anyone wants to contemplate.